Not wanting to revitalize the ol' premium versus regular debate here, but I have driven mine on a trip roughly 2000 miles in the past few days, and will be driving another 1300 this weekend. At one point I filled the tank with 85.5 regular and it didn't knock or seem to affect mileage much one way or the other. At another fill-up, I put in 89 with 10% ethanol, and that seemed fine too. Mine is the 2.7/4cyl, however, so probably tolerates lower octane gas better than the 4L V6.

Tire pressure is fairly major. If you are going to be driving on reasonably smooth paved roads for the most part, bump up your pressures a bit, maybe 5-7psi over what the manual says. And as others have said, speed is the most important. I spent one day driving 75-80 trying to cover some ground and got about 21mpg. On a day when I was able to loaf along at 65 and under most of the way I got 24. Payload is also a significant factor. I was fairly well loaded, not excessively but probably hauling 600 pounds of stuff in the bed. That'll be down to about 100 this weekend so maybe that'll help.

Exhaust upgrades (open it up) as long as you don't have a CAI.
*CAI + exhaust doesn't help*

I'm not convinced the premium fuel helps. Seems like it would be a 'wash' in cost versus increase. I haven't done any testing myself. I'm spending enough money on 87 per gallon, I sure as heck don't like to spend anymore unless I have to.

I just got back from a 1600+ trip to San Diego and Mexico from Northern California. I averaged about 23-24 on the highway. My truck is the 2.7L i4, access cab. I was worried about the gas considering two people in the truck plus 200 pounds of gear and the AC on most of the way, but it ran like a champ. I'd say the tires we're at spec, cruising at about 65-75 average.

That makes all the difference, back off on the gas and get a few more mpg's.

I think I could probably get 25-26 mpg's if it was just me, no gear and maybe a few more pounds in the tires.

Proper tire inflation, easy on the take offs, and clean air filter. Any car with an OBDII will not run better on a higher grade of gas. You will just be pouring money down the drain. Most experts even say that they will not put premium in their cars that call for it... you would lose 1 +/- mpg, but going up does not help (well, I guess it helps the oil company)

Proper tire inflation, easy on the take offs, and clean air filter. Any car with an OBDII will not run better on a higher grade of gas. You will just be pouring money down the drain. Most experts even say that they will not put premium in their cars that call for it... you would lose 1 +/- mpg, but going up does not help (well, I guess it helps the oil company)

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premium gas does make a difference, but it's not worth the extra cost.

AFE Pro Dry filter. I picked up 2-3mpg just with that and nothing else changing. Not to mention it'll save you money on air filters by washing and reusing it instead of throwing out the old ones to buy new. And it's a oil-free filter so no need to buy oil cleaning kit to clean it or risk fouling the MAF sensor.